Today's Document
i don't do bad sauce passes
noise dept.
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
AnasAbdin
Keni
oozey mess
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
Sweet Seals For You, Always
Andulka
Misplaced Lens Cap
Product Placement
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
KIROKAZE
No title available
RMH
hello vonnie
No title available
tannertan36
seen from United States
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seen from Japan
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@coachbeckythetechie
More Than One Thing: Quarantine Edition
If there’s one thing to say, it’s that this has been a very unique student teaching experience.
I love the school district where I am placed. I truly hope that there is some opening of any kind for next school year, I would apply in a heartbeat. The students are wonderful, motivated, and kind. The staff is caring and welcoming. The administration is invested. The district already had an…
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A Letter to My Son as He Turns One
A Letter to My Son as He Turns One
Dear D/DJ/Danny-boy/Bubba/Daniel/Dan/MY BABY:
As I write this, you sleep soundly in your crib. The noise machine brings the everlasting sound of running water to soothe you into dreams. If one day you have bed-wetting issues, I apologize for our decision to use this particular sound as a sleep-soother. It seemed more relaxing than static or a saccharine lullaby playing all night.
You are about to…
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Griffman Family Update - Labor Day 2019
Griffman Family Update – Labor Day 2019
Hello out there! It’s been quite a bit since my last post. Summer was a bit crazy, but now things are starting to slow into a manageable rhythm.
Where to start? Probably with DANNY. He will be seven months old on the third! That is nuts! He’s hitting every milestone set before him (except cutting teeth- he’s all gums still), including just the week: getting into a sitting position from a crawling…
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It’s simply crazy to think that a year ago, we were waiting to see if our last two embryos would take. I never truly thought we’d make it to here- that I’d get to do one of these “before and after” posts. But yet- here we are. A year ago, what would become Danny was just a clump of cells attaching to my lining and dividing and dividing and dividing. And all that dividing resulted in this charmer.
To commemorate the day, I brought Danny back to where he began: Fertility Solutions of New England in Dedham. I called ahead of time to find out if it would be alright to bring him (some clinics have a strict no-kids policy) and to confirm when our doctor would be there. I gave them a box of tea cookies from Whole Foods, a card, and photos of Danny and our family of three as a thank you for being an amazing clinic. In return, Danny was rightly fawned over by all of the staff. We waited a little longer to make sure the nurse who did all of my blood draws and monitoring could meet him as well- she was in the op room, but when she came out, she asked to hold him and was absolutely delighted by his royal handsomeness. And the first thing my doctor said upon greeting us? “See, I told you it would work!” Haha, Dr. Anania. Thank you.
Seriously, if you’ve met Danny, you know what I mean: he charms the pants off of people. He sneaks in a smile at strangers that just melts the heart. And he’s babbling like no tomorrow. Of course, the flip side is that he is SCREAMING a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like, I had to put him in the pack n play and walk away for a bit to keep from yelling right back at him. This also might be tainted by having JUST put the screamer to bed, our ears still ringing.
But who can remain mad at a face like that?
Life hasn’t slowed down for us. I’m back at Blue Man Group and will be rejoining the Boston Red Sox baseball camps again this summer (with a week off between each session-I’m not insane like last year). If you remember a deep dive, I’m now taking the online course I dropped this time last summer. The duration is 12 weeks instead of last year’s 6, but still so, so rigorous. I mean, I would have had an anxiety attack taking it last year, but I do wish I didn’t have to juggle this crazy course on top of everything else. Just taking care of the four month old is a full time gig, plus overtime, with no days off and no monetary compensation.
The lack of monetary compensation is worth it. Every cent.
But so far in the past four months, we’ve taken Danny seemingly everywhere. We went to a drive in theater (yes, they still exist!) and saw the new Aladdin. We drove down to New Jersey to visit Justin’s parents and show him off to some relatives- he handled the car ride like a champ. We’ve brought him to a Sox game, every ice cream stand we’ve passed (he has not had any, still too young), and as of last week, his first National Park. Tomorrow, we visit yet another new place for him to celebrate Father’s Day, but the location is a surprise for Justin, so I’ll have to write up a review next week.
And of course we got him his own tri-corner hat from Minute Man National Park!
In conclusion, a year ago we had no idea what was in store, and what a wonder a child of ours could be. To say we’re smitten is an understatement.
May the Force be with us all!
Happy Transfer-versery! It's simply crazy to think that a year ago, we were waiting to see if our last two embryos would take.
The Fourth Trimester
We’re alive! We’re alive…sorta.
We’ve now entered the 12th week of parenthood. Our little guy is growing like a weed- or at least we assume so given how much he is eating and sleeping…and spitting up. Seriously, so much spit up. Everyone now says to “wait until he’s eating solid foods” because then it’ll be even worse/gross, but still…milk curds.
The past three months have been a real learning…
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Walking Dead: New Parents
Walking Dead: New Parents
Danny has been home for one month! And what a month it has been- this sleep-deprived period is no joke.
Let’s catch you up. Last either Justin or I posted, Danny had just been born and was hanging out in the Special Care Nursery. He has only thrived since then. He was in Special Care for ten days total- their main concern was with his eating. Being so early, he just didn’t want to eat as often or…
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It was a typical work-from-home Wednesday for me. Becky had a burst of energy and decided to go out and run some errands when her OB office called and said they’d like her to come in for monitoring due to the discharge she had reported. She hadn’t thought much of it and assumed it would be a quick visit. Fast forward to just before 1:30pm when I got the call. You know, that call that starts with “so everything’s fine but…” Turns out that discharge she had been noticing was in fact amniotic fluid slowly leaking aka her water breaking ever so slowly. And then the adrenaline kicked in. Initial thoughts were “Is this really it? A month early?” I wouldn’t necessarily say I panicked but I was thinking to myself that I needed to move fast and head over, even though she said no rush. Just didn’t want to miss anything.
I arrived at the hospital around 2:10. Luckily no traffic. I think I got the last spot in the West Entrance lot and was so glad. There’s a larger garage on the other end of the hospital but with not knowing what to expect I wanted to park closer to the labor/delivery ward. Thank god we had a tour of the hospital during our childbirth class because it’s one hell of a maze to navigate. I headed inside and up to the 5th floor, gave my name real quick, and proceeded to Becky’s room in antenatal. She was sitting upright talking to one of the nurses about what’s been going on. The nurses ran some initial tests and determined that it was in fact amniotic fluid that was slowly leaking. Ironically our OB from the practice was the on call dr that day so she got to make the call on how to proceed. How lucky! She determined because this fluid had been present for several days now that going forward with induction was the best choice.
I’ll admit this is where the sequence of events may get fuzzy as the following days tended to blur together. As Becky mentioned, ending up in this scenario was pretty funny considering her overall feelings regarding the pregnancy amidst third trimester. She was so ready for it to be over and Danny to join the world. Be careful what you wish for peeps. Anyway, the rest of day 1’s goal was to get her cervix ripened because it was not at the state it needed to be in. They gave her misoprostol every 4 hours along with penicillin on top of monitoring her. Man, what a trooper Becky is. She didn’t think anything of it but if I had to have so many fluids running through me I think I would’ve complained a whole lot. I tried to rest when I could during this 24 hr period. Thankfully I packed Becky’s laptop and there was a tv in the room so we had some distractions to pass the time. We were in it for the long haul now.
One thing that’s so wonderful about the staff at Newton Wellesley is that they really look out for the partners too. As we headed into the night they offered us a larger room with a reclining chair so I could sleep better. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be staying at the hospital with Becky. I’d be too anxious at home anyway.
Day 2 rolled in and after a cervix check we find that Becky’s only 50% effaced. So onto another ripening method for another 12 hours. The nurses continued to check on her every so often always asking if any cramping because that would show signs of contractions. And the answer continued to be minimal. Her and Danny’s vitals were solid the whole course so they were never too concerned about that. The following morning we moved into the labor and delivery wing, conveniently with the same numbered room. You would think that’s irrelevant but those hallways all look nearly identical and you’d be correct in thinking I got lost constantly trying to find my way to and from our rooms. So we settled into our new room which was quite lovely. Brighter colors, nice large windows, multiple chairs and high tech equipment. At this point in the story the doctors decided to move forward with administering pitocin to see if that would drive contractions any further. Think again.
Let’s sidebar to talk about the food situation for a moment because we both had our fair share of meals with such a long stay. Patients essentially have free room service and can pick anything from breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day. I wasn’t so lucky BUT if you play the game correctly you can have your partner order a little extra and there ya go. There is a cafeteria with all sorts of stations, very similar to a dining hall, and a couple of starbucks cafes on the main floor. Was the cafeteria food amazing? No. But very cheap compared to eating out so take your pick.
After 24 hrs of pitocin with little progress the next doctor on call decided to re-evaluate. She was a younger doctor and really great. She decided to take a step backwards and do some ultrasounds and further testing to see exactly what we’re dealing with. She again confirmed that it was amniotic fluid but found that there was even more in the sac than before. So she suggested using a balloon to stretch out the cervix which she said has a pretty high success rate. If it stretched out enough they would be able to go in and break her water completely. So they put this in and inflate it and we play the waiting game again but this time Becky’s definitely feeling cramping. So much so that she asked them to deflate the amount of water in them. Fast forward to midnight when it’s time for this sucker to come out and she’s now at just over 2 1/2 cm. It wasn’t quite the progress we hoped for but it was enough for them to break the water so we’ll call it a win.
And so the pitocin is introduced again. With no fluid left everyone was pretty confident things would move quickly now. At this point we’re heading into Sunday morning so we’re just going with the flow and hoping for anything. When the pain became too tough to handle Becky asked for the epidural. We had agreed to go this route from the get go. Honestly, and I know she agrees, I can’t imagine how anyone would endure giving birth without it. She had to wake me up just around 5am as I was pretty zoned out to warn me what was about to happen. Administering the epidural involves getting a needle fed through the back so I’m good not watching (I really hate the sight of needles and blood being drawn, to the point where I’ve gotten nauseous in the past.) It took a couple tries for them to get the perfect spot but once they did it kicked in very quickly and Becky was so thankful. And honestly I was too! If she was in that much pain at only a few cm dilated I could only imagine how she’d feel down the road. She fell asleep pretty quickly and guess what…we played the waiting game again!
So our OB was back on call at this point, joking how we really didn’t have to wait for her all this time, and assured us that baby would come today one way or the other. I think we both had that thought of “we’ll believe it when we see it” but at the same time were leaning more towards the “yes please thank god” reaction. The pitocin worked like a charm this time as she already reached 7cm early afternoon. Mind you this was also an hour into our baby shower which we obviously did not go to. It had been rescheduled from two weeks ago and our families wanted to keep the celebration alive. So I texted with parents, friends, and cousins back and forth for updates and we let them know any significant news. Just around 2pm I stepped out for a walk (there’s only so much you could do to stay active being in a hospital for 5 days). There’s signs next to the staircases that say “free stairmaster this way.” I’ll admit I quite often ran up and down the stairs for exercise to wake myself up from time to time. I headed to the cafeteria to grab lunch and then Becky texted that she was fully dilated and pushing was to begin real soon. HALLELUJAH! (Or, famous last words)
I headed back to the room with a half hour or so to spare, just in time for the puppy bowl to begin. Our nurse joked that I better eat fast and get some strength before we began. Boy was she right, but more on that soon. 3:30pm rolled around and here we go. Now, we knew that pushing with an epidural was an interesting situation thanks to our childbirth classes. You really can’t feel the contractions that strongly so they have to direct you on how and when to push. They keep telling her to push as if she’s going to the bathroom which seems like a good analogy, but man does that still sound painful. I should also note our PM nurse brought in a back up for assistance who was not a nurse we had ever met before. Nothing wrong with that but her approach was a little more firm. She reminded me of that tough gym teacher or coach you’d have on a team sport who would show no compassion about your situation. For me, I really just wanted to offer support in any way I could to help Becky relax. I know that when she gets stressed she can be real grouchy so I was very cautious. They had me assist in holding a pillow behind her head for support and that seemed like a nice touch. At one point I did try to direct her to move her head slightly so she wouldn’t hurt herself but she didn’t like that because she wanted to focus on what the nurses were saying. You may think I’d be taken aback but I was fine with it. I just kept quiet and let her focus.
It’s safe to say that all the emotions over the past week were building up in this moment which led to a panic attack of sorts as she tried pushing. I’m sure the nurses had seen such reactions in the past but there seemed to be a lot of deliberation over how to calm her and how to proceed. The nurses would tell her that she has to pull herself together and focus – understandable but not what you’d want to hear in the heat of the moment. At the same time they also said how amazing she was at pushing, given that she had never delivered before. She really was making exceptional progress in such a short amount of time. They had said pushing could take a couple of hours but given that we started at 3:30 Danny was already crowning nearly an hour later. Now initially I had no interest in seeing this happen but the nurses were excitedly urging me to look and I was basically right there so I said what the heck. It was actually a pretty cool sight. But Becky had no interest in seeing it haha. So remember when the nurse joked to gain some strength? Here’s where it was needed. Those final pushes took everything she got and the one thing she made clear before all this began is that she wanted me to hold her hand during the process. Little did I know this hand hold which I would have done regardless for support was more like a death grip as she pushed with all her might. I could hear our OB telling the nurses to prepare for Danny’s arrival. This was it.
A couple more pushes and there he was! I was overjoyed and trying to console Becky who I don’t think realized it was over. The nurses asked if she wanted to hold him. I started saying they could clean him off first as that’s what we discussed but Becky didn’t care. She just wanted to hold her baby who she just worked so hard to bring into the world. Hey, I don’t blame her. In those initial moments we noticed he had a full head of hair and an adorable face. Lots of mixed traits between us. My nose but her chin. He was then handed over to some other nurses on the far end of the room who were checking his vitals. It was determined that he had some trouble breathing on his own after the first minute. Not uncommon for an infant born early. So the nurses consoled us and told us he’d have to be brought upstairs to special care for additional attention. Because we knew this could potentially happen we really weren’t caught off guard. We had discussed that if anything were to happen where we need to be separated that I would go with him and we stuck to that. So I proceeded to follow everyone upstairs while Becky was finishing up delivering the placenta.
We get upstairs and I take a seat next to his bed while the nurses discuss their findings thus far. He was given an oxygen mask at first which was then replaced with a tube through his nose hooked up to a machine. The issue wasn’t really that he couldn’t breathe, it was that he wasn’t relieving enough pressure to sustain a breath when he inhaled and they didn’t want his lungs to collapse. Once the breathing tube was set up they proceeded to run some tests. The doctor in the unit told me that they wanted to be sure he didn’t have any infections due to Becky’s membrane rupturing so early on. She wanted to give him some antibiotics right away but the nurses had just hooked him up to an IV for fluid intake so they decided to wait a half hour. In that time another nurse tried to draw blood for a blood culture. But as we’ve said before Danny is one stubborn kid. She pricked his right arm looking for a good spot to produce enough blood. No luck. Onto the left arm. A tiny spot after the needle came out but not substantial. She moved to his right calf and got a decent amount flowing through the tube but even then it was a struggle. I’d hate to admit that I was amused, but I was.
Earlier on while I was sitting with Danny I received a call from Becky telling me that she had a lot of excess blood and was being brought to an operating room. But that was it. I tried not to panic but I was torn because I wanted to go see what was going on but at the same time I didn’t want to leave Danny. I had to trust my gut that the nurses would take good care of her and she’d update me when she could. Once Danny’s blood was successfully drawn and he was just chillin before the antibiotics were administered I asked one of the nurses with me if they had any information on what happened. They did not. The doctor advised that I go check downstairs since Danny was doing just fine at this point. And so I rushed downstairs and found a nurse who told me that she had some internal bleeding and a retained placenta but she was still in the operating room. I wasn’t allowed in there so I could either wait in the waiting room or go be with Danny until she was moved to a recovery room. I proceeded back upstairs and hung out with the little guy until I received a text from Becky that she had been moved. I went back downstairs and there she was – super drowsy, slightly frustrated due to the pain she was in, but overall she was okay. I felt so bad. Just when she thought she was pain-free and could spend time with Danny she had to go through a whole other operation. Maybe that’s what we get for her overall pregnancy being pretty easy.
Eventually we moved over to the final wing, postpartum recovery, where we settled into our final room in our stay. The only substantial difference to this one is it had a full size couch or more like a futon. I was excited in thinking I could potentially sleep better than previous nights but soon realized the cushions folded really awkwardly making it not that comfortable. We met our new nurse for the night and soon after a lactation consultant who talked to Becky all about breastfeeding and how to use a pump. Mind you it was now 10pm so we were both pretty tired but I paid attention as much as I could. Good thing because I ended up taking apart, cleaning, and re-assembling the pump the next few go arounds. She was given some more painkillers for the night to help her sleep and recover over time.
The next day was more of the same. She woke up feeling very drowsy and achy but it was her body recovering from everything. This day also brought on a lot of reflection from the past week and everything we went through. I think our go with the flow attitude was appropriate given the circumstances but we did fully intend on having a written birth plan to present to the nurses. To all you couples out there, I’d highly suggest getting one together sooner than later. If not, at least jot down the principles that are most important to you. It just allows for an easier time discussing with the nurses when they start pressing you for answers as things progress. So the nurses eventually came in to assist Becky in getting dressed and then we went back upstairs to see Danny. He was sound asleep but we got to take turns holding him and even doing skin-to-skin. Oh, this was also the morning that both my parents and hers were coming back to meet him so it was real important to us that Becky got to see Danny first. This would have been the first time since he was brought upstairs initially. Our parents came maybe a half hour later and I went down to escort them up. They had to enter in pairs of two because there’s not a ton of space which was fine. There was laughter, tears, and the like. This is the first grandchild for all so the attachment is real. Eventually we all headed back to our room where we shared stories about the experience, swapped some gifts, and found out about the shower we could not attend.
Eventually I left with my parents to head home and grab my car before Danny’s next feeding. (We had kept both cars at home to avoid high parking rates.) I was a little frantic on this trip home and back because we were cutting it close time-wise, but thankfully they didn’t start feeding without me. And Becky was actually still in the room. It was a busy morning for her between nurse visits. We headed back upstairs and saw our nurse was in the process of bottle feeding Danny. He looked so cute chugging away. At this stage he was doing much better with his breathing but they now had to focus on feeding as he wasn’t sticking to their feeding schedule and/or finishing the appropriate amount. Ultimately they ended up putting a feeding tube through his nose to administer any leftovers. If he could conquer his feeding then he’d be able to come home soon after.
In the following days we have come by to visit for anywhere between 5 and 6 hours each day. The staff is very warm and welcoming and know how hard it can be for parents to not be able to take their kid home so they have little restrictions on when you can come in. He’s now breathing room air all on his own and we’ve been lucky enough to catch him when he’s awake and play with him. (But not too much because we don’t want to tire him out so that he can’t feed.) Yesterday he made the most improvement in terms of feeding. He drank two full bottles throughout the day and breastfed with Becky for a solid 15 minutes. The nurse on call was so impressed and said he would probably end up with the feeding tube removed overnight or early today. That’s a HUGE accomplishment. She even said to bring in his car seat for the safety test which is one of the last steps. So it looks like Danny could be home with us by Monday if we’re lucky. He is so precious and loved by so many people already in his short time with us thus far.
To all you guys out there, hopefully my story can shed some light as to what you can expect. In our childbirth class it was amusing to see how we all felt similarly unprepared when it comes to giving birth. I don’t wish that on anyone. Whether you deliver at Newton Wellesley or elsewhere just remember to be supportive to your spouse, don’t panic, and trust your instincts. You’ll know what’s most important to you when the time comes.
A Shocking Turn of Events -The Husband’s Tale It was a typical work-from-home Wednesday for me. Becky had a burst of energy and decided to go out and run some errands when her OB office called and said they'd like her to come in for monitoring due to the discharge she had reported.
What Happened Last Week
What Happened Last Week
CW: Details on birth. Pictures at end of long tale.
Do I have a story for you. It all began last Wednesday. This pregnancy continues to be an adventure. From a rather “boring” two trimesters we now bring you Third Trimester: Is Anything Really Wrong? Yes, yes it is.
Remember two and a half weeks ago when I went in to labor and delivery to be monitored and they ruled out anything really serious?…
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The Perfect Baby in an Imperfect Host
The Perfect Baby in an Imperfect Host
Yesterday was a trial run for when Danny will actually join us in the world.
Around midnight I was awoken by a sharp pain in my abdomen. It wasn’t contractions, but very odd in that it wouldn’t let me find any comfortable position- laying on either side was painful, standing and walking were painful, sitting in any way that wasn’t cross-legged and leaning forward was painful. I had my next OB…
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There's a Finish Line Ahead
There’s a Finish Line Ahead
In that pregnancy is not interminable. As I’ve mentioned before, I am NOT COMPLAINING AND I’M SO GRATEFUL but yeah… now I know that I’m not one of those people who “enjoy” every second of pregnancy. I’ve been very fortunate in that this has been a mostly “easy” pregnancy- no high risks, just some slight anemia, few symptoms, and I guess my bump is relatively “small” to strangers (but right on…
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It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like…
Holy cow, today is the start of the third trimester. Where’d the past six months go? More importantly, WHERE’D THIS SEMESTER GO?! Next week is the last week of classes for this fall semester at Framingham State. I have two research papers due- one Wednesday, one Thursday- that I have yet to start writing (have done research, yes). Instead, I’m writing this blog post. Priorities.
I’ll be sad to…
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One Year Later
I woke up today feeling fine. Justin and I slept in a little, it being Saturday and all, but our cat Felix was not having it- he was tromping on us, meowing, biting my nose, batting my glasses on the nightstand- all the usual cat ways of saying “Hey! It’s two hours past my usual breakfast time! Feed me!” I finally acquiesced to the little tyrant’s demands, and visited the bathroom on the way down…
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(If you don’t sing-scream the next part in your head, I don’t know you)
21 and a half weeks down, 18 and a half weeks to go…assuming a full 40 week term.
First off, it’s cold and flu season. Blech. At my 20 week OBGYN appointment, my doctor administered my flu shot, to my relief. That of course did not stop me from contracting whatever cold virus from hell is floating around Framingham State right now. I’m slowly on the mend, but I do miss my go-to cold medicines that are deemed too powerful or dangerous for pregnant women. Not being able to breathe is no joke. (Justin received his flu shot a few days following my appointment.)
If you read Justin’s post from a few weeks ago, our 18 week ultrasound did not yield conclusive results other than our kid is perfectly healthy and stubborn as all get-out. This meant we had to schedule a follow up ultrasound at the Maternal Fetal Medicine ward of the hospital so the ultrasound could be monitored by a radiologist. Due to backups with scheduling (thanks Columbus Day and Massachusetts’ observation of it), the earliest we could get in was today. I initially was really annoyed by how late it was (the fetal anatomy scan is typically performed between 18 and 20 weeks, and I’m now nearing 22), but now am grateful.
A few pics of us from this weekend in Albany at a Bar Mitzvah
Alright, here’s a rundown of today’s visit:
Due to having the appointment scheduled at 11, I had to miss my 10:30 class at FSU. This fortuitously turned out to be a non-issue, as the professor cancelled class at 7 this morning due to coming down with campus plague. Feel better Dr. Parker, but score!
The parking garage at the hospital costs money per half-hour, so Justin and I decided that I would pick him up from his new job beforehand and we’d carpool over-his job is only 15 minutes from the hospital. Again, this turned out to be the best idea as when we arrived at the garage there was a backed up line of cars trying to find parking within the full garage. We found a spot, but finding two would have been near-impossible. I had never seen the garage like that, but granted, I’ve only been to the hospital a handful of times, and never during peak times or on a Monday.
Our ultrasound tech was very cheerful and helpful- she explained everything she was doing and started the scan by showing the heartbeat. I loved this touch because it immediately alleviates the anxiety of “oh god, what if something has happened to the fetus?!” that I (and I know a lot of expectant mothers, especially those who’ve had losses) experience often. She also knew right away this was going to be a strenuous scan- for once again, our little potato knew just the right way to avoid being properly measured. At one point, she had me rapidly roll from one side to the other to try and “confuse” the baby into unfurling and revealing its face- for the majority of the 45 minute scan, baby had its face covered with both arms AND legs. In fact, the only clear picture the tech could print off was of the anatomy.
YUP, our little baby GS is biologically male! And gave us the glories of his first dick pic, albeit solicited in this case. And no, I’m not going to post THAT particular picture online. It’s a baby dick…you get it.
We tried everything to get all of the shots needed- including having me empty my bladder and sitting me up. In the end, there were two shots the tech just could not get, so she went to get the doctor. She mentioned one of the doctors was a “baby whisperer,” but I don’t know if it was the one who came to our room. This doctor was also friendly and cheerful, congratulating us on our little boy, and figuring out just how to get him to uncover his face enough to get the missing profile shot and then the missing shot of part of his heart- beating away at 147 beats per minute. She pointed out how active the baby was, how he was moving all around, and at one point was apparently kicking himself in the face- ha.
The doctor apologized for not being able to get “better” pictures printed for us, but I didn’t mind and I don’t think Justin really did either- we’re simply both so glad to have a growing baby who is meeting all the regular requirements. The pictures will come later, after the, you know, birth and for the remainder of his life, where he can’t hide against my spine and in the placenta. Mwahaha.
And now for some ultrasound pictures, if you care to look. The first few are from the 18 week scan. The later profiles are from today’s 21 week scan.
Presenting: Danny!
18w. The black spot is his bladder. The grey above him is the placenta.
21w. Hello profile.
Lookit the baby cheeks
Skeletor trying to eat the placenta (drinking amniotic fluid)
Until next time, may the Force be with you.
Woah, We’re Halfway There (If you don't sing-scream the next part in your head, I don't know you) 21 and a half weeks down, 18 and a half weeks to go...assuming a full 40 week term.
A Husband's Perspective
A Husband’s Perspective
Hello world. As you may recall, the wife swore that I would post a blog update eventually…well she’s right! My apologies for the delay. Truthfully a large part of it was trying to figure out what I wanted my first post to be. I was hung up on this idea of starting my own separate blog, which I still may do, but as she pointed out there is already a nice following with this one. The other large…
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Naps R Great
Life while pregnant is pretty much the same…just with more naps and bathroom trips.
It’s a very odd experience. I’m not showing yet- not really. Any “bump” could still be explained away as “oh, she’s gained a few pounds…only around her midsection.” But for once in my life, I am not self-conscious about how I look. In fact, I could give a flying flip if I “look fat” when I step out of my house.…
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Oh, The Summer's Over Now
Oh, The Summer’s Over Now
Hello. It’s been a while.
To explain my absence, after the last post, my husband and I talked and we decided to keep mum on social media until we reached 12 weeks pregnant. I know, it’s a silly taboo, but we wanted to do a real announcement so that’s what we did.
I have a lot to catch you up on:
Baseball camp has ended. I really enjoyed it, despite my gripings after week one. Some weeks were…
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It's All Connected
It’s All Connected
Summer is here and- shocker- it’s a hot one.
I, thankfully, odds-defyingly, have this entire week off. No camp, no Blue Man, no Build-a-Bear. Justin, however, has ALL THE WORK. So I’m spending most of the days in our wonderfully air conditioned townhouse doing odd tasks, binging tv shows, and catching up on reading.
To get the elephant in the room acknowledged: STILL PREGNANT. To remind any…
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